Why It's Best To Forget Trendy Benefits And Concentrate On Core Offerings

Free snacks. An on-site gym. Company outings. A fully stocked beer fridge full of complimentary craft brews. Pingpong. For HR professionals, attracting and retaining employees in today’s highly competitive talent market can feel more like housing a fraternity than offering benefits.

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Employers should continually evaluate their offerings to make sure the benefits meet their workers’ needs.

But even as they’re dreaming up innovative perks, employers should prioritize their core benefits,such as healthcare, life insurance and retirement programs, according to Alex Quevedo, senior vice president and general manager of insurance services for ADP.

“There’s definitely nothing wrong with trendy benefits,” Quevedo said. “But my recommendation for any employer would be to first focus on those core offerings. They’ll have the largest impact on attracting and retaining talent.”

Though less fashionable, bulking up and properly marketing core benefits can have a greater impact on employees. It may also be a better investment. Here’s why.

The Case For Core Offerings

Core offerings, such as health insurance and retirement plans, can be taken for grantedas trendier benefits grab all the attention. However, research shows that employees most value core offerings. For example, about half of small business employees value basic health insurance above other benefits,according to ADP research.

Ensuring thatthose core benefits are meeting employees’ needs is crucial. A recentAflac WorkForces Reportshows that 96 percent of workers who were satisfied with their benefits were also satisfied with their jobs. They were also less likely to look for new jobsin the next 12 months.

Why do core benefits have such an impact? Quevedo said it’s partly because they appeal to all employees, unlike company outings (which might not appeal to the less socially outgoing) or an on-site gym (which won’t appeal to those who simply don’t want to use a gym). Core benefits also have greater reach, benefiting the employee’s entire family, making life insurance a more meaningful offering than, say, a bottomless beer fridge.

“There is an opportunity cost for each business,” said Quevedo. “It’s up to the employer to make sure they’re getting the maximum benefit from what they’re offering their employees.”

Matching Core Offerings To Employee Needs

Employers should continually evaluate their offerings to make sure the benefits meet their workers’ needs. Quevedo suggests polling employees from time to time, as well as being aware of employee demographics and customizing core benefits as needed.

Consider Millennials, who are struggling to pay off college debt. They’re less likely to take advantage of retirement-savingsbenefits early in their careers. Kim Creason, ADP’s vice president of marketing for retirement services, recommends employers take a more holistic financial wellness approach.

“Make it a financial wellness program, which is inclusive of your retirement plan program,” she said.

The financial wellness benefit would include retirement savings, but for Millennials it might focus more on paying down student loans. Gen Xers may seek guidance on saving for their kids’educations even as they save for retirement. Baby Boomers, naturally, would be most focused on bulking up their retirement savings.

“It’s a terrific way to get your employees the information they need,while still offering them the ability to be a part of the 401(k) plan,” Creason said.

Communicating Core Offerings

One advantage of trendy, non-core benefits is that they’re often easy to communicate. For example, telling employees they can work remotely for up to two days a week is simpler than detailing your generous and varied healthcare plans.

To get employees more excited about core benefits, Quevedo recommends using more engaging delivery mechanisms. Think text messages with key health insurance messages and mobile apps allowing employees to adjust and review their benefits from anywhere. Creason adds that sending targeted text messages to employees about saving for retirement through mobile devices can help them stay on top of planning and get the most out of their benefits.

“Any time you can leverage technology to make enrollment and benefit decisions easy, that will have a positive impact,” said Quevedo. “Benefits are complicated. Making it a streamlined process will make it more appealing.”

In such a competitive talent market, there’s a strong temptation for employers to use fun, trendy benefits to snag great workers. While there’s nothing wrong with offering those flashy perks, organizations should first make sure their core benefits are as strong as possible to realize the best investment and retain the best talent. Once those are in place, they can feel free to find a spot for that pingpong table.

For more information and for more articles like this, visitadp.com/spark.

A former downtown development professional, Natalie Burg is a freelancer who writes about growth, entrepreneurialism and innovation.